Pages

Thursday, February 3, 2011

The view....

Yep, that is what the yards and sidewalks look like around here...not sure how deep that is....the truck does not make a dent in it. I almost fell I don't know how many times when I was out. So, I am not taking my camera out to get any of the lovely pictures I know are there for the taking. Instead I contented myself with taking a couple from the porch.The sun was too high for this to be a good shot...if I had taken it a bit earlier I think the ice on the trees would have shown better.

But notice the sky!!!! That is blue sky....and we had it yesterday starting sometime up in the day. And water is dripping from things that are iced over. So eventually it will all be gone. And none too soon for me.

I even saw Bubbie sliding around a little bit while trying to walk out on this ice. The cats go out, but sure don't stay long...you can tell by their actions that their feet get cold. I sure feel sorry for animals that don't have a a warm place to stay.

Which reminds me of something I seen the other day.

We were in Terre Haute and on one of the corners at a stoplight there was a couple that held signs wanting work...saying they are homeless. Now some are used to seeing that, but I am not. There is probably more of it close to here but I am not out enough at the right time to see it. But I wonder where they slept....were they warm.

I also wondered about their life....wonder what led to that condition. Was it really beyond their means to avoid, or were they like some people with financial difficulties that won't do little things like give up their cell phone, do without cable, etc. Continually using a credit card as if it does not have to be paid back?

And I was thinking to myself that gee, we spend enough money on cats, we could cut enough out of that to at least buy them a meal...but I did not suggest doing anything....just drove on by.

But I have thought about them several times since...wondering how do other people handle seeing homeless. Do you feel a certain amount of guilt. Do you wonder if you offered them a job, if they might steal anything they could lay their hands on? Or do those thoughts never cross your mind?

One time we were in the hospital cafeteria down there and this old man came through....and Roger could tell he was homeless...the old guy got a cup of hot coffee and a doughnut or some little something like that. I don't think I even realized he was homeless till Roger mentioned it...now what Roger done was get out a little bit of money...it wasn't much but it was something. He got up and pretended to go get something and walked by the old guy and pretended he found the money on the floor, and gave it to him saying he must have dropped it.

The old man did say it wasn't his, but Roger just told him well, its not mine so you keep it. And the old guy went back through the line and got more food...I don't recall just what.

We left that situation and did not feel any guilt, yet ever since we seen that couple in Terre Haute, I have wondered what we should have done. I think anything would have been better than nothing. Kindness never hurts....no matter what the situation.

10 comments:

Please be careful and do stay inside. Ice can be so slippery. You must have gotten quite a bit of it.

I too feel for the homeless and struggle with feelings of guilt. We do not see that here, but when we visit big cities we do. My husband gave money to a woman with a small child in Chicago once and a man behind us started yelling and berating him for doing such a thing. It is a very sad thing to see.

I can understand why you don't want to go out with all that ice around.Since we live in a rural area, we don't see a lot of homelessness, although it is probably around. When we see someone with a sign wanting food or a job, I tend not to give cash to them. But we do support local food banks and social service groups.

Hi Rose, Your ice looks scary... Neal sent me a picture of his driveway... Whew!!!!! You almost need a sleigh to get around.... ha

Don't ever give anyone any cash... I hate to say this, but I worked for churches for years and years. AND--there are tons of scams. There are some legitimate cases --but we have to let the people in charge (Social Services) work out ways to help. We will give money to agencies --and trust them to help the needy (the ones who are REALLY needy)... But--we won't give money to someone on the corner. Don't mean to sound harsh... There are people who take advantage of us --and will do anything to buy their drugs. SAD!Hugs,Betsy

Oh, that ice looks wicked. Time to start a new quilt project and not go out again til the big melt starts.

Unfortunately, handing money to a person asking is not always a good idea, because they can use that money for items you didn't intend to help them with. Instead, you can go to a local grocery store and get a gift card for $10 or what ever you can afford, and bring it back to them. If someone approaches you in front of a store and asks for money "for diapers for their baby," say "yes!" go into the store with them and buy the diapers and hand them over. If you see someone begging, and they don't have a hat or gloves on, give them yours. Go to a local coffee shop and buy them a hot drink. There are a lot of people out there that need help, and it is possible to help them, just do it smartly.

Soothe your guilt by sending a modest donation to a shelter or outreach program in the area where you saw this distressed couple.

I agree with supporting the local food banks....although even that comes with reservations. I have seen them abused also...people that have plenty going and taking food. That is just not right.

Also, notice I said we could have bought the couple lunch, I did not say give them money...and if the post is really read as a whole, one can tell that I am a skeptic about them anyway. I guess I feel it is sort of sad that that is part of my initial reaction.

As for the old man in the hospital cafeteria...he was hungry. He had counted his money so carefully as he went through...as if he might not have enough to pay...and when Roger gave him the extra $$ he went back through the line...

We see "homeless" people quite often. I always wondered if they are homeless or running a racket. A long time ago I stopped a time or two and offered to take them to a restaurant and buy them some food but they wanted money. It's kind of ironic but I drove by a guy one time that said "Will work for food" and he was sitting in front of a McDonalds that had a big sign in the window that said "HIRING". :)